We began our stay in Alsace with a tour of the Verdun Battlefield, as we arrived in France 2 weeks earlier to drive through the Dordogne and Luberon River valleys. We were based in Ribeauville in the Chansons des Oiseaux apartment. We have done several Idyll trips, and we found this perhaps the easiest for those not able to handle hill towns, etc. All the villages are close by and mostly flat. You also have the option for mountain hikes if you wish and for travel into Germany and Switzerland.

The orientation was done smoothly thanks to Vivienne’s skills. We found the activity guide well done and it gave us ample ideas for our 2 weeks. Tour the castle of Haut Konigsburg…you can park closer than you might think driving up the winding approach road.

Colmar is a lovely small city near the apartments.(Use the free parking lot.) The Unterlinden Museum, the cathedrals, Little Venice and the Tanners’ Quarters make for a full day. For the best food shopping, visit the Cora Supercenter outside Colmar. After eating out during our first 2 weeks in France, we seemed to cook in more frequently in Alsace….prices somewhat higher in this region. And we had two dinners with our landlords, new to Idyll and a charming couple.

Strasbourg is a must….on Sundays you can park free outside the center city….we were in a hospital area parking lot. Walk over the bridge into the Old City and take the 70 minute canal boat ride. Our landlords recommended a pleasant restaurant… good food and value…. outside the tourist center…Le Bistro Romain near the Place Gutenberg…ask for directions. A/C inside or outside tables. Check the time for the Astronomical Clock at the Cathedrale Notre Dame near the river. Walk through La Petite France and tour the Musee Alsacien . We could have spent another day here.

Be on the lookout for local happenings. We and 2 other Idyll couples spent a holiday at a wine picnic near our apartment and met a Colmar physician who invited the 6 of us to his home for dinner. We also enjoyed a Citroen auto rally and a local castle fund-raiser medieval festival in Chatenois (I was even interviewed in French by a local French TV crew) that we spotted advertised on posters in shop windows.

If you like hiking climb to the Ribeauville castles…good trail and a 45 minute walk. We also used the Idyll hiking booklet, and after touring the Convent of St. Odile we did a great 2 hour hike in the forest along a 700 B.C. pagan wall…..check out nearby towns of Barr and Obernai afterward. Another day we packed another lunch and drove to Kayserberg, ate at the chateau and climbed the castle tower (no interior lighting!) for a wonderful view of the countryside. Another special hike was the day we drove first to Munster and its multiple stork nests. Drove next to Le Linge War Memorial Museum and German and French WWI cemeteries. After a picnic lunch at Le Linge we drove to Wettstein, parked and hiked over the mountain to Lac Noir……wonderful 2 hour hike through meadows and farmland with a café at the lake’s edge.

If you are auto enthusiasts be sure and spend a day in Mulhouse and the auto museum there. English headsets allow you make the most of this visit!

We enjoyed the Idyll sponsored wine tasting and our group dinner in Bergheim. Another day we toured Turckheim, Equisheim and then to the Chateau de Hohlandsbourg where we lucked into a racing car rally on the castle’s grounds.

Selestat has a huge market, and it’s near the Ebermunster, the only Baroque church in Alsace. We combined these sights with a tour of the Marckolsheim bunker from the Maginot Line near the Rhine River. (We popped across the river and discovered our favorite Magnum ice cream bars were a better buy in Germany!)

If you want the best stork photos, visit the Ecomuseum in Ungersheim …50 old buildings scattered on 50 acres ….and climb the tower to actually look down on the nest!

Please let me know if I can be of further help…..this is a great area to explore!